12 Days of RimFire Christmas
by Nightmare-Taichou
Summary: Short drabbles of the eight boys during the winter holidays. And with the eight of them being together under the same roof, naturally, disasters are bound to happen.
1. Festive

…

…

 _ **Day 01: Festive**_

* * *

"Yuki," Shouichi started in his usual tiresome drawl. "Why did you have to choose baubles?"

Yukio stopped and gave him the stink eye. "It's because you never wanted to pick! Stop complaining!"

It was the winter holidays and with this season, in came the festive spirit. All throughout Japan one could see a myriad of lights decorating the environment. People became even busier at this time of the year, shopping for their loved ones, friends or themselves.

That said, out and about were the boys of RimFire, Tanaka had sent them out on a mission to gather Christmas decorations. The man had just brought home a massive Christmas tree, but alas, he had "forgotten" to pick up the décor —lights, baubles, stockings, wreath etc. So, having nothing better to do since school was out and Winter Cup and streetball competitions were done with, RimFire got to work.

Since the eight boys had split up into pairs to cover more ground, they had to choose what they'd buy via lottery. And as such, Yukio had drawn baubles. But Shouichi had a feeling that the lottery was rigged, in Yukio's case. He knew that the Blue Elite was a bauble fanatic; even his parents had admitted that ever since he was a young boy, Yukio has had a rather keen interest in that type of ornament.

"We'll be done before you know it. I mean, how hard can picking baubles be?" Yukio grinned, upon entering the mall. Quickly, he navigated through the fairly thin crowd — _as Christmas drew closer, there'll be more people_ —to end up at the store he was looking for.

Pushing the door open, both his and Shouichi's eyes were assaulted with a wide array of colours; neither of them knew where to start. There were decorations everywhere, from miniature snowmen; to giant Christmas trees…they had it all.

"Now that I think about it, we could have all just shopped here instead of splitting up." Shouichi voiced out, the two walking further inwards the store.

"That's what I was saying but you know the boys, they were too eager to listen." Yukio shrugged.

The two then turned left and continued down that direction, looking at the aisles to see if they had what they were looking for. Soon, after passing four aisles, they arrived at the one which housed the baubles. And when they arrived, Yukio's mouth dropped open. Baubles galore! He saw green, red, gold — _the standard colours that he's used to—_ but then he saw that there were purple, blue, orange…and many more colours. Before he had moved to Tanaka's, he and his family decorated their house for Christmas like everyone else. But they've never used the latter colours mentioned.

Seeing his best friend's face, Shouichi let out a sigh. "I pray for your pocket, Tanaka-san." Yukio walked down the aisle, and with every step, he took up about three boxes of baubles which housed six of the round ornament of the same colour and design.

"What are you doing, Shou?!" Yukio barked at him from the centre of the aisle. "Get your ass down here!"

"Hai, hai…" Shouichi sighed as he walked down the aisle to his bauble-obsessed best friend. _I hope the others are having more fun than me._

…

…

Elsewhere, Tetsuya and Shige were shopping for wreaths. So far, so good when they've stumbled upon a shop called _"The Wreath Specialist"._ As the name suggests, its main product were wreaths, not only for Christmas but also for other occasions such as funerals.

The boys entered and were looking around. There were so many to choose from that Tetsuya and Shige were stumped. As if seeing their indecisiveness, a worker trudged up to them with a smile on his face. "Hello, how may I help?" he asked politely.

"We'd like your opinion on which wreaths to buy." Shige replied. "We can't choose between —" He broke himself off when he saw the confused look on the worker. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, what do you mean by "we"?"

"Me and Tetsu. He's right here." Shige said, stepping aside so that the worker could see Tetsuya. But even so, he didn't.

"Hello." Tetsuya said, scaring the man out of his wits.

"Oh shit! I didn't see you there!" he screamed.

"He's been there the whole time though." Shige grinned.

"R-right." The worker stuttered, a part of him believing that Tetsuya was a ghost.

When everything had calmed down, Shige started up again, "So, which wreaths should we get?"

…

…

Tatsuya and Shuuzou were probably the only duo that didn't cause a stir wherever they went since they had gotten the easiest of the decorations —the lights. They didn't go into specialized store like Tetsuya and Shige, nor did they go into a mega mall like Shouichi and Yukio but rather, they entered a run-of-the-mill appliance store, asked a worker if they sold Christmas lights and bought the amount that they needed.

Tanaka-san had given the exact amount, not only for the massive tree in the living room, but for the entire house. The landlord knows that his boys were extra, and would have pestered him to decorate the house anyway.

"Is that everything?" Tatsuya asked when they were at the cashier.

"It's just lights, Tatsuya." Shuuzou drawled. "What _else_ could we have possibly gotten?"

"Just asking. I don't know if you personally wanted anything."

"Pfft!" The power forward chuckled. "If I wanted anything I'd buy it online and wait for it to be delivered at my door."

"Lazy bastard."

"I just can't be bothered with these crowds."

…

The energetic duo of Kazunari and Kotarou had gotten the stockings to purchase and it turned out to be an all out war between the two. Kazunari loved the red stockings with the cute white snowflakes on them, while Kotarou wanted to get the green ones with the plaid pattern.

"We're getting the red ones! What the hell are we doing with the green ones!? Who do you think we are?! The Grinch!?" The hawk-eyed teen roared.

Kotarou drew back and gasped. "How does the Grinch come into this?!" he barked back. "We aren't _wearing_ the stockings!"

"We're getting the red ones!"

"No! The green!"

"Red!"

"Green!"

"Red!"

"Green!"

Even the workers were troubled by their argument and even the manager threatened to throw them out if they persisted. However, when he got an understanding of the situation, he made a suggestion for them instead.

"Since you can't choose between them, why not get them both?" he said. "Here," he handed them two stockings for reference. "We have red, green and even white knitted stockings. So there's no need to start an argument."

Kazunari and Kotarou looked at each other as if saying, "why didn't we think of that before". Seeing that the two boys were beaming from the happiness, the manager heaved a sigh of relief. But he made sure to remember their faces; he was too young to be dealing with those two.

…

…

Tanaka hummed as he busied himself in the kitchen. The house was extremely peaceful since all the boys were out, and the man couldn't remember when the last time he's had such peace. But, he didn't mind the noise and ruckus the eight brought. They were all healthy teenage boys who'll fight and argue and honestly, he found their bickering most amusing.

He looked to the clock, and immediately his brows furrowed. They knew what they were going to buy, and how much they should buy, so why aren't they back by now?

"Maybe I should call them." He said, fishing his phone out of his pocket. But the instant he did so, he heard loud chatter.

"Jesus Christ, I can't believe you!"

"I can't believe _you!"_

 _Oh dear, they're arguing._ Tanaka sighed. He padded into the living room to see Yukio and Shouichi, along with Kazunari and Kotarou. And, indeed the four were arguing.

"Why on God's green earth did you buy those ugly stockings!?" Shouichi nearly screeched. "They're _disgusting!"_

"They're not! Kazu has the best taste in stockings! Don't you dare insult his choices!" Kotarou barked, grabbing Touou's captain in the collar. This was rather ironic, given how he and the point guard were arguing in the store earlier.

"You have five seconds to release his collar, Kotarou." Yukio hissed. "Or else,"

"Or else what?! Tell him to apologize to Kazu!"

"Oi! Oi! Oi!" Tanaka intervened quickly before things got nasty. He pried Kotarou from Shouichi and stood in between the two pairs of boys.

"What's the issue?" He asked in a stern voice.

"The stockings they bought are terrible! Just look at them!" Shouichi said with disgust.

"No they aren't!" Kotarou defended.

Tanaka sighed. "I can't believe this." He dragged a hand over his face. "Look, the stockings are staying, and they're not all bad."

"Tanaka-san, how could you?"

"They're not bad. Come on…"

"They're —"

" _Tadaima!"_ a very perky voice came from the genkan. "And we've bought the wreaths! I can tell that you're going to like it!"

Shige and Tetsuya entered the living room and felt the stifling atmosphere. And judging from Tanaka-san's stance, they knew that something had happened between the boys and he was doing damage control. Awkwardly, they placed the wreaths on the table, and marched up to Tetsuya's shared room with Kazunari. Whatever happened, they didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

"Alright, what don't you like about the stockings?" Tanaka started up, forcing them to sit in sofa.

"The designs." Shouichi deadpanned. "What is _that?"_ he asked when he pointed on a pattern seeming to shape like a reindeer.

"A reindeer, you blind fool." Kotarou snapped.

"Reindeers don't look like that!" He argued. "And I'm not a blind fool!"

"Shit…" Tanaka couldn't deal with this right now. And what's worse, Yukio and Kazunari weren't being helpful either. "You know what, I have a handcuff so it wouldn't kill me to cuff you two together."

Shouichi and Kotarou looked mortified. "No…" they gasped out.

"Plus, you're both males so there's nothing to worry about."

"We have our dignity!" they screeched.

"Then stop this senseless arguing over stockings! If I so hear a peep out of any one of you, I'll go for the cuff."

"Yes Sir."

The quartet marched upstairs in misery, but at least, they weren't going at each other's throats anymore. When Tanaka returned to the kitchen, the last duo, Tatsuya and Shuuzou arrived, and they were so quiet that he almost didn't realize when they had returned.

"At least I don't get headaches from those two." He sighed. But he just knew that as the days go by, his peace wasn't going to last.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading~!**_


	2. Decorations

…

…

 _ **Day 02: Decorations**_

* * *

The next day, as soon as the sun rose in the sky, the eight boys of RimFire were wide awake. The reason for them getting up so early on a holiday was simple; they were going to decorate the Christmas tree. Yesterday, Tanaka-san had told them this, and surprisingly, they had managed to sleep despite them being so excited.

So, after they had freshened up and had breakfast, they immediately went for the decoration box and headed to the tree.

"Are you ready, guys?" Yukio asked from atop Shouichi's shoulder. He had a light and bauble in his hand.

"Of course!" the others shouted, in a likewise position as Yukio.

Tanaka-san was outside putting up the lights, so he left the massive tree to his eight boys. And as is customary, one should start decorating the tree from the top and as tall as they may be, the tip of the thing was almost at the ceiling ―which meant, neither of them can reach it without tipping or climbing onto something.

So, they came up with the idea of sitting on each other's shoulders to decorate the top and proceed as normal when they reached the middle. As it is, Yukio sat on Shouichi's shoulders, Tetsuya was on Shige's, Kazunari was on Kotarou and Shuuzou was crushing Tatsuya.

"En garde!" Yukio barked. "En garde mine Chevalier ! »

The boys moved off towards the Christmas tree and so far, everything was going smoothly. The ones sitting on the shoulders placed their respective baubles wherever they felt like, they wrapped the lights around the tree with smooth swiftness. However, Shuuzou and Tatsuya encountered a little difficulty because the former was too heavy for the latter.

The power forward had to stretch to the tree because Tatsuya couldn't even lift a foot.

"Come on Tatsu! Closer!" Shuuzou nearly screamed. _"Closer!"_

Right now, Tatsuya was cursing his horrible janken skills. "You bastard." He hissed. "You're as heavy as a sixteen wheeler, you know that?"

"Really?" Shuuzou feigned shock. "Then, I take you can lift a sixteen wheeler."

"You…!"

"Come on, just one step more, Tatsuya." Shouichi urged. "Come, take my hand." He said. He offered his hand to their shooting guard (sometimes he plays as centre) and in the instant he took it, Tatsuya misstep and staggered sideways. Naturally, not wanting to end up on the floor, Shuuzou grabbed a hold of the nearest thing to him, who happened to be Yukio.

The captain struggled to stay upright, but with the weight of the two boys suddenly coming down on him, Shouichi lost his footing and the four were going down.

But, it was like a domino effect.

With hands and feet flailing about, someone else was bound to get caught, and that was Kazunari. Yukio had grabbed him in his waist, his face nuzzling into the boy's ribs. And with this sudden action, Kazunari had grabbed hold of the tree, fretting for his life. Shouichi, on the other hand, held Kotarou's shirt firmly in his grasp which was almost serving like a rope to keep him from falling.

At first, a dreaded silence hung in the air, as if something terrible was about to happen. All eyes looked to the tree, silently praying that it could withstand their weight. But seeing that nothing did, the eight heaved a relieved sigh.

"Thank God," Yukio breathed out. "I thought I was a goner back there."

"You? What about me?" Kazunari said, eyeing Shouichi, who was still holding onto his shirt.

"Heh, what can I say?" the bespectacled teen grinned. "If Yuki and I are going down, someone else has to tag along."

"How evil!"

By this time, Shuuzou dismounted off Tatsuya's shoulders, the Yousen student looking like his life has been sapped dry.

"Never again," he rasped out. "Shuuzou is a ten ton elephant or something."

"I thought you said I was a sixteen wheeler."

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes. One is an animal and the other is a vehicle."

"Oh, shut up." Tatsuya groaned out.

The others broke in joyous laughter before they noticed something amiss. Actually, they _heard_ something strange.

Screaming.

Loud, boisterous and "manly" shrieks could be heard coming from the Christmas tree and looking up; they saw Tetsuya with a nasty grin on his face, his phone in his hand.

"Ho, ho, ho." He grinned. "Santa's caught you clumsy boys on tape for his entertainment."

"Tetsuya…" Shouichi gasped out, disbelieving that while they were struggling to stay on their feet, the light-blue haired teen was videoing them for his own fun? How could he?!

"Hand that to me." Yukio hissed.

"Nope." Tetsuya smiled rather childishly. He gripped onto Shige's hair, knowing full well was about to go down.

" _Capture him!"_ Kotarou screeched.

Shige bolted for the door with Tetsuya still on his shoulders but realized that they couldn't go outside without proper winter wear. Which meant, he had to make it upstairs, and maybe lock themselves in one of the rooms.

"Don't let them escape!" Yukio ordered.

But suddenly, they heard a _sound._

They didn't know what it was, but all eyes went to the Christmas tree. Then, as if in slow motion, the massive thing tumbled down, all eight running towards it to stop it. However, they failed miserably.

Meanwhile outside, Tanaka heard the screaming and shouting and decided to take a look. He hoped that they weren't killing each other in there, because explaining shit to the police was not on his to-do list this winter.

Entering the house, ruckus had stopped, but he could feel in his bones that something was amiss. Making his way to the living room, he saw all eight boys, sitting and watching TV without a care in the world.

"Boys, are you done decorating the tree?" he asked.

"What's a tree?" they all came out with.

In that moment, Tanaka learned the hard way to _never_ let his boys decorate a Christmas tree, ever again.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading~!**_


	3. Winter Wonderland

_**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews, faves and follows! Yes, this is set after Winter Cup**_

...

…

 _ **Day 03: Winter Wonderland**_

* * *

Tanaka was stumped.

He wanted to carry out his boys to something interesting and special but for the life of him; he didn't know where he could take eight healthy teenage males who have a tendency to break out in fights. He drove his car to the stoplight, where the light was on red.

"Midtown Illuminations!" a shout took him out of his thoughts. "Come to the Midtown Illuminations!"

A bulb went off in Tanaka-san's head. The illuminations were the perfect place for them. Still, he mentally slapped himself for forgetting these events. He was Japanese, he should've been ashamed. It would be a great idea to take his boys there, a walk through the Omotesando would be great for the simplicity or if he wanted his boys to see the "ye olde European style" Christmas light up, he could bring them to the Marunouchi Illuminations or…

"Shit, there's a lot to choose from." He gasped out. "And if I tell them this, they'll want to go to all of them."

So, he decided to fully plan his outing when he reached home and could plan better with research.

...

...

Upon reaching home, Tanaka noticed that the boys were in their room, playing that MMORPG game that they're so addicted to. He always found it odd, that these basketball idiots could be so into something else, another game, that's not related to the sport in any shape or form. He had wanted to greet them, to tell them that he's home but when he heard the fervent screams of "kill that bastard!" and "recover, I'm dying! I'm dying!", he knew that he couldn't disturb them.

But whatever, he could make his plans in peace without any of them breathing down his neck in curiosity.

...

...

Tanaka and his boys were getting ready to go out, as the landlord had finalized everything the previous day.

The man could hear the shuffling and the footfalls from upstairs and knew that his boys were eager to go. He had settled on going to the Midtown Illuminations, with the _Starlight Garden_ being the last stop.

He was already dressed in his red sweater — _with "Santa"_ printed on―and was waiting in the living room for the others. A couple minutes and he heard loud footfalls coming down the stairs and immediately he knew that they've arrived.

Shouichi and Yukio led the pack in their white sweaters with red Christmas patterns. However, theirs had words printed on as well ―Shouichi had _"Dancer"_ while Yukio had _"Prancer"._ Behind them were Tatsuya and Shuuzou's sweaters had _"Comet"_ and _"Cupid",_ Kazunari and Kotarou were _"Dunder"_ and _"Blixem"_ and lastly, Shige and Tetsuya were _"Dasher"_ and _"Vixen"._

Tanaka couldn't help but chuckle, since this idea was Shige and Kotarou's. Since there were eight of them, the two boys decided that they'll all wear matching sweaters but with Santa's reindeer names on them. Add to that, Tanaka's sweater had "Santa" on it.

"Everyone's ready!" Kotarou chirped.

Tanaka grinned. "Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen!" the landlord started, deepening his voice to sound like Santa in the movies. "On Comet! On Cupid! On Dunder and Blixem!"

"Hai!" the eight chirped in unison before dashing out the front door and into the yard. How funny it was when it was Tanaka who had to car keys. When the man had reached to the car, he could see the boys bouncing in their seats, eager to reach the Tokyo Midtown Illuminations.

"Tanaka-san, don't even think of driving in the speed limit." Tetsuya started.

"You want me to speed and kill us off?"

"I want you to get us there quickly."

"Impatient, aren't we?"

"I'm not impatient." The light-blue haired teen quipped. "I'm just restlessly eager."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Tanaka laughed.

"No…I'm…we…" he stuttered. He then looked to the others for help. "Guys! Help me out here!"

"We're all just eager." They deadpanned.

"Traitors." He hissed.

Without any further ado, and before they start bickering over something petty, Tanaka drove off to the Roppongi area.

…

…

Tokyo Midtown is a large complex area which consists of numbers of facilities such as shops, restaurants, cafés, museums, hotel, offices, residences, gardens etc. It's located in the Roppongi area and holds the annual winter illumination event at Tokyo Midtown called _Midtown Christmas._ It is one of the most popular winter events attended in the season and it's held from early November to Christmas day.

Tanaka had deliberately drove through the Roppongi Hills for his boys to see some of the street side illuminations. He turned on _Keyakizaka Street_ one of the biggest Christmas Markets in Tokyo. The illuminations here have been one of the most popular spots in Tokyo to visit at this time of year, and visitors both local and foreign flock here every year.

As Tanaka drove down the 400m stretch of street, his boys "oh"ed and "awe"ed at the sight, the trees that lined the streets were decorated with over thousands of LED lights which displays cool colours with the _"Snow and blue"_ theme. It was a beautiful sight to behold, almost reminding the eight boys of snow accumulating on the trees.

[ADD]

Tanaka parked nearby the famous Tokyo Tower, sighing a relief that he was lucky enough to get a space. Quickly, the ecstatic boys exited from the car and looked around in eagerness.

"Let's go there!"

"No there!"

"Bastards please! We're gonna to go to where that giant Christmas tree is!"

"No way! I wanna see what lies over there!"

"Boys…" Tanaka sternly said to avoid conflict from breaking out. "…I know where I'm taking you so there's no need to fight."

"But I want to…!"

"You're not going anywhere else. Am I clear?"

"Hai…"

"Alright boys, let's go~!"

Tanaka walked off with his eight boys trotting behind him like a little ducklings with people snapping pictures of them thanks to the writings on their sweaters.

…

…

Finally reaching the Grass Square of Tokyo Midtown, the eight boys were left in awe, especially Tatsuya who's lived in America ever since he was a little boy. Seeing such splendour was enough to leave him breathless.

There were already a crowd there, but that didn't faze them. It was the spectacular light-up show called _Starlight Garden._ This time, the theme was _"The Universe",_ which featured thousands of lights. As they inched closer to it, they realized that the lights really reminded them of a universe.

The blue LED lights covered the lawn leaving only couple spots of black here and there, while the while lights crisscrossed to create an effect of a constellation. Their eyes trailed to the left and saw what seemed to be a planet with rings―probably referring to Saturn― using the same blue and white coloured lights. It really expressed the movement of outer space and addition to that; there were what seemed to be millions of bubbles floating around the area, giving it an even more out-of-this-world look.

"Can I see something?" Shuuzou asked a random spectator who held a brochure. Reluctantly, the stranger lent the power forward the paper, and he started to read aloud. "Starlight Garden is the biggest highlight of the event featuring approximately 190,000 LED lights with over 100 balloon lights…" he trailed off as he couldn't believe it even though he was standing before it.

"Shit…190,000 LED lights?" Kotarou said, staring at the illumination slack-jawed. "Who's paying for all that electricity?"

"Our parents." Yukio deadpanned.

"…moreover, a special effect will be added by using approximately 450,000 soap bubble blown around the Starlight Garden and makes the scenery even more spectacular and dreamy." Shuuzou ended and handed the brochure back to its owner.

The eight looked at each other with shock and Tanaka was pleased. The look of genuine awe and amazement on their faces was a pleasant sight, sometimes Tanaka forgetting that they were ordinary teenage boys given how mature they behaved sometimes.

"Let's take a picture!" Kazunari screeched. "I have to save this as a tangible memory!"

Without needing to be told anything more, they huddled together while Tanaka took the picture, or rather, pictures. They took a million and one photos in normal poses with normal smiles, and another million and one photos with crazy poses and faces.

After that photo session was done, the boys asked random strangers to take their pictures with Tanaka as there's no way "Santa" wouldn't have a photo with his "reindeers".

…

…

When they reached home, they were beat and half of them had fell asleep on the way. They were exhausted, as after they left the Starlight Garden, they visited other areas as well, like the _Yebisu Garden, Marunouchi Illumination, Shinjuku Minami Lumi_ and _Terrace City Illuminations,_ just to name a few. And then after that, they ate at a nearby restaurant.

Given all that outing, naturally, the boys would have been tired.

So, after struggling with their bodies up the staircase and tucking them in bed, Tanaka retired for the night, knowing that come tomorrow, they would be up and running again.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading! The Illuminations used are real events held in Japan every winter, with the same amount of LED lights mentioned. And, in regards to the reindeers' name "Dunder" and "Blixem", the traditional names were used, which meant "Thunder and Lightning". Rudolph was excluded because he wasn't an original reindeer.  
**_


	4. Snowman

…

…

 _ **Day 04: Snowman**_

* * *

These past few days, the snowfall has been quite heavy, most people staying indoors unable to even go past their front doors.

Kotarou stretched as he yawned, looking at the clock to see the time. It was minutes after ten o'clock but he didn't care about the time. His eyes caught the falling snow outside and quickly, he dashed towards the window for a better view. Snow coated everything, everywhere, the environment looking like a world of fragile things.

Immediately, the lightning dribbler got an idea.

He shared a room with Shige, and scooting over to the brunet's bed, he shook him violently awake. "Shige!" he shouted.

"Hnn…?" The boy groaned out, still partially in his sleep.

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

His eyes snapped open. He looked to Kotarou who wore the brightest grin he's seen him do so far. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Of course I am! There's so much snow out there! Let's put it to good use!"

"Right you are!" He chirped.

The two then dashed out of their room to wake up the others in order to build the ultimate snowman.

At first, Shuuzou nearly killed them with the lamp at his bedside table but thanks to Tatsuya, Shige and Kotarou were able to escape with minor scratches. They then headed to Tetsuya and Kazunari who were more than eager to build a giant snowman in their front yard. The hawk-eyed boy had even thought of putting some Christmas lights on the creation when they were done.

Lastly, but not least, were Yukio and Shouichi. Of course, neither captain was fond of mornings, so naturally, they too, aimed their bedside lamps at the crowd of boys entering their room because they wanted to get some more sleep.

"Get the hell out!" Yukio screamed. "I want to sleep!"

"But Yu-chan! Don't you want to build a snowman?" Kazunari whined. "Come on, let's build a snowman!"

"Yes! But not now!" He screeched indignantly. "I need to sleep first!"

"No way! It's after ten o'clock! Get your ass up!" Shuuzou said, shaking him in his shoulders.

"I'll kill you if you don't release me this instant." The Blue Elite snarled.

"Heeh? You wanna test that out?" He prompted.

"You little shit!" Yukio snapped, springing out of bed, reaching for Shuuzou. The power forward laughed at this, as this was what he was aiming for. Rile up the captain and get him to get out bed, Shouichi was sulking in his bed due to the screaming and shit that was going on. He wasn't the type to act out like Yukio and luckily for the others, there weren't any sharp implements nearby.

"Yuki, it makes no sense to fight them." Shouichi yawned. "They'll pester our asses until we give in to them eventually."

Yukio smirked. "Hoh? Who says we couldn't kill them before that?"

"Well, now that you're up, can we go make that snowman now?" Tetsuya said groggily. "As much as I want to, I'm still sleepy, you know?"

"I know the perfect remedy to wash away that sleep." Shige grinned. "Trust me."

"Seeing your face, I know I can't do that." He stepped away from the tall brunet. But now that everyone was up and running, they all assembled to the bathroom to freshen up after which they headed down to the living room and kitchen to see if Tanaka was up. It turns out, Tanaka was out of the house, he left to go somewhere he didn't specify.

"Well…that means, either we have breakfast without him first and then we build our snowman, or we build the snowman first then we ―" Tatsuya said after he read Tanaka's note.

"Naturally we're gonna eat first." Shouichi said. "That's a no-brainer."

"Alright, so what's it gonna be" Yukio asked, already strapping on his apron.

The others looked to each other fiercely before the scream fest started.

"Pancakes!"

"Sandwiches!"

"Cereal!"

Yukio looked at them with a deadpan expression before he turned to the fridge and said, "Omelettes it is."

Cue the somewhat angry screeches of his name from the remainder of the boys present.

…

…

Now that breakfast over, the boys tackled the snow outside. Suiting up in their winter wear, the eight boys dashed outside with their shovels, and whatever they could find. Exiting the house and into the snow filled yard, they realized that the amount of snow was far more than they had thought.

Which made things all the better.

"Ne, how about we split into teams and make multiple snowmen?" Tatsuya suggested. "And maybe snow gnomes."

"Not bad, but what the hell are _"snow gnomes"?"_ Shuuzou asked.

"They're snow versions of garden gnomes! Duh!" Tatsuya quipped at his friend's stupidity.

"Don't duh me! How was I supposed to know that?!"

"So, how are we going to split the teams? Random? Or…"

"Of course I'm with Tetsu!" Shige shrieked, throwing a hand over the light-blue haired teen. "I'll never separate from my childhood friend!"

"How boring." Yukio drawled with an eye roll. "Kazunari, let's go."

"That's right," Shouichi smirked. "Shuuzou, I believe we'll make a rather good team."

"But, Shuuzou and I created mayhem back in America! You can't take him away from me!" Tatsuya argued.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, this is Japan. We do things different from the Americans." The bespectacled teen grinned. Shuuzou ignored them, looking around the yard for a perfect spot to build his snowman.

Tatsuya felt betrayed.

Shuuzou was his partner in crime, his power forward, the asshole friend that drives him up the wall that he feels like strangling him sometimes, so, how could he do this to him?

"Let's go Kotarou," The raven haired said with ice. Deep down, he was swearing revenge on them.

Each pair chose a specific spot in the yard to start building their snowmen, but as soon as they started, their creative side emerged.

…

…

Tanaka drove slowly down the ice covered streets after visiting his little brother and the closer he got to his house, the more uneasy he felt. He shouldn't be worried about his eight boys that he's left alone at home, since, this isn't the first and he's returned to a very intact house.

But, he figured that he shouldn't worry about his house or furniture or anything material, instead, he worried about them _individually._ Boredom and RimFire plus snow equals disaster. As a matter of fact, adding anything to these boys always end in disaster.

Still, he prayed that he was just an overreacting worrywart.

…

…

Soon, he neared his house and what he saw left him breaking out in laughter. His eight boys were the usual, fighting and bickering, but this time over something rather cute.

Snowmen.

He saw Shouichi and Shuuzou arguing loudly over what colour scarf to put their snowman in, the captain had a lovely blue scarf while Shuuzou had a bright yellow one. Shige and Tetsuya coated theirs with some Christmas decorations they probably took from the house and made it look rather… _awkward._

Yukio and Kazunari's had so much Christmas lights on it; Tanaka could barely see the snowman. If his eyesight wasn't up to par, he would have thought that the two somehow managed to make a snowman out of lights like the winter illuminations in Osaka.

Tatsuya and Kotarou's …they looked strange. There were two large snowmen that perfectly fine, and then there were numerous smaller ones around them with pointy heads and malformed noses and…

"What the hell are they making?!" he couldn't help but exclaim loudly. He parked in the garage and hopped out of his car, dashing to see what his boys were really up to. He didn't believe it was _just_ making snowmen. "Boys…" he called out to them, luckily, they heard.

"Tanaka-san!" they chirped with bright eyes. "You're back!"

"Yeah, and uh, strange snowmen you've got there. Why build so much?"

"Whose is the best?" they suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

"Which pair has the best snowmen?" Kazunari clarified since it seemed that Tanaka didn't understand.

The landlord sighed. He hated being put in these positions, but he decided that he'll play along with them. "To be honest, Tatsuya and Kotarou's would have been the best if it weren't for those strange little creatures around them."

"They're snow gnomes!" The shooting guard screeched. _"Snow gnomes!"_

"I wouldn't know. This isn't America."

"What's with you people and America?"

"Nothing, it's just that you do certain things and expect us to know, so we're just reminding you that you're in Japan." Tanaka explained. Tatsuya gave up. "So, continuing, I think that Shouichi-kun and Shuuzou-kun's is the most normal looking of the bunch here, followed by…Shigehiro-kun and Tetsuya-kun's."

Tanaka stayed long enough to regret saying that.

"Oh." The others gave out, strangely sounding calm. They were extremely competitive, so hearing this without a fuss was a shocker to the landlord.

"Battle stations!" Yukio screeched, pointing at the four boys. "We're going to _wipe_ them out!"

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading~!**_


	5. Snowball Fight

_**A/N: Thank you for your faves, follows and reviews!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

…

…

 _ **Day 05: Snowball Fight**_

* * *

The moment Yukio yelled "Battle stations"; they all knew what was coming. What's more, Tatsuya was already burning with rage upon seeing that his partner was taken from him, and then they ended up winning.

Oh yes, Tatsuya was going to exterminate the opposition alright.

"Wait!" Tanaka said, getting their attention.

"Not now Tanaka-san! They need to be killed!" Kazunari shouted.

The landlord chuckled at them. "How can you have a snowball fight without proper equipment?"

"Huh?" They gave him confused looks before they all took up shovels.

Alarmed, Tanaka screeched, "What did you plan on doing with shovels?!"

"Nothing much."

"But anyway, I was talking about snowball blasters. You can't have an epic fight without one." He grinned.

"So…where are they?"

"In the trunk―"

The boys didn't wait for him finish, but instead, they dashed to his car only find out that they couldn't open the trunk. But, it should've been obvious from the start.

"I tell you, you eight will be the death of me." Tanaka sighed in distress when he opened the trunk. Brand new blasters stared back at the boys, who maliciously grinned as each boy took one.

Tanaka knew that there would come day when they'd have a snowball fight given how hard the snow was falling the past week. So he decided to buy them these gifts to make the activity more fun.

But little did he know what he just stirred up.

The eight boys then scampered into position; Yukio, Kazunari, Tatsuya and Kotarou were on the left side of the yard, Kotarou and Tatsuya demolishing the snowmen in an effort to build a wall quickly, while Yukio and Kazunari were making the snowballs with frightening speed.

On the right side of the yard were Shouichi, Shuuzou, Shige and Tetsuya who were essentially doing the same thing like the other boys.

"How the hell are we going to take _them_ down?!" Shige asked as he frantically made the wall. "I mean, they have Kazu and he sees _everything!"_

"There's no need to worry, as long as we plan accordingly we can ―!" But sadly, Shouichi didn't get to finish his sentence. A snowball landed in his face, making him fall backwards onto his back. The others were frightened at the sudden assault, they too had to duck and cover in case another snowball came their way.

" _DIE!"_ Came Tatsuya's screech.

"To think we were suddenly attacked like this!" Shuuzou hissed. "They're going down!"

He looked up over the wall to see the other side clear. _They're hiding too, huh?_ "Guys, let's think this through. We ―"

"We're going to get revenge alright." Shouichi said, propping himself up onto his elbows. His glasses were lopsided on his face. "That damn thing is so cold."

"So what do we do? Aim and fire and different intervals or something? Or lure them out?"

"Luring them out would be the ideal thing, but the problem is, _how_ are we going to do it?" Tetsuya said, tapping his chin with an index.

Shouichi grinned. "Who's the fastest of us here?"

"Probably me." Shuuzou said, he sure knew it wasn't Tetsuya. "Or Shige perhaps."

"Hmm…if we could send someone out there to shoot at them, then we could get at least one of them to pop up. And if you can make it behind their wall and make them run out, then that'll be all the better."

Shuuzou made a devious grin. "I'll do it. I'll just weave around those snowballs like a defender on a court."

"Then…let's do this."

Meanwhile, the other team were grinning at their success. Tatsuya and Kazunari proved to be an efficient combination ―the latter using his hawk-eyes to pinpoint their opponents while the former takes the direction and aims. Kotarou made the snowballs as fast as he could dribble, while Yukio scanned their wall for a weakness.

"Since Shou got hit, they'll probably try to fortify their defences or they strike back at us." Yukio started. "And since Kazunari is on our team, they'll know that Tetsuya's misdirection isn't going to be of much help."

"That makes sense. But from which angle will they strike?" Kotarou asked.

"Probably both sides of their wall." Yukio replied. "If they think that we're anticipating snowballs from one side of their wall, then they'll "surprise" us with two people shooting at us from different directions."

"So, what do we do?"

"We can't continue to throw balls without aim." Tatsuya said. "We'll ―" he abruptly stopped when he peered over the wall and saw Shuuzou dashing towards their flank with his blaster in hand. "Shuuzou's coming! Shuuzou's coming!" he screeched.

"What?!" Kotarou and Kazunari looked as well as saw the raven-haired thundering towards them.

"I'll shoot him." Yukio calmly said. He poised his blaster on the wall and took aim. However, the moment he fired the snowball, Shuuzou, being the power forward that he is, ducked from it and continued on. "Back-up." The Blue Elite said, knowing full well what was happening. Being a point guard really paid off.

Once again, Yukio took aim but the instant Shuuzou dodged, Kotarou aimed as well. When the lightning dribbler fired a snowball, he dodged it yet again, but that was all within their plan. Kazunari shot at the raven-haired, hitting him squarely in the face; he staggered a bit, trying to get the ice out of his eyes. At that moment, the others showered him with snowballs; Shouichi, Shige and Tetsuya emerging from the wall and blasting away at them.

"Shit!" Tatsuya hissed as he was hit on his arm. Kazunari's line of sight saved him and Kotarou, Yukio barely missed it.

"Now!" Shouichi shouted as he jumped over the wall with Shige and Tetsuya following closely behind. They sprinted towards the others' wall, however, Shouichi was the only who shot snowballs. The blasters came with only three slots for the snowballs, so while they were out in the open, they had to be wise.

"These audacious bastards!" Yukio indignantly screeched. "Let's kill them!"

And thus, a nasty snowball battle between the eight started, Tanaka sitting on the front porch videoing it from start to finish. He was thankful that they were screaming on the top of their lungs so that the audio could be recorded on the video as well.

Tanaka didn't hide his grin. He was going to make this into a DVD, to make them see just how terrible they are. And maybe he'll burn a couple copies for Yukio and Kazunari's siblings as well.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading~!**_


	6. Ice Skating

_**A/N: Thank you for all your faves, follows and reviews! And this fic is supposed to last until New Years, that's why I'm dragging it out so much...**_

 _ **Enjoy~!**_

…

…

 _ **Day 06: Ice Skating**_

* * *

With shaking hands, Shige, Kazunari, Kotarou tied the laces of their skates, a tinge of regret in their hearts. They wanted to visit a public ice skating rink, but the thing is, _not all of them could skate._ But, they had been watching some ice-skating on the TV and somehow, something possessed them to go to a rink.

"Hey! What are you idiots doing?! Hurry it up!" Shouichi barked at the three boys still sitting on the bench. Their eyes looked up at the rink and saw Shouichi gliding his way towards them like a professional, while Yukio and Tatsuya were…

"Wait, where's Yu-chan and Tatsu-chan?" Kazunari asked, when he looked about and saw no traces of them.

"They're skating." Shouichi deadpanned as he made it to the bench. He then jabbed a thumb over his shoulder in their direction, and what the three boys saw, left them speechless. There Yukio and Tatsuya were, racing speedily across the ice. They twist, they turned, they jumped, they spun ―they looked like _pros._ They moved like _pros._

"Since when could they do that?!" Kotarou screeched in disbelief. "Isn't Yukio as stiff as a piece of board? How is he moving like _that?!"_

"I don't know about him, but for a fact, Tatsuya could've always skated." Shuuzou said, he was comfortably leaning on the wall, even with his skates on. He hadn't moved an inch from that spot, since, unlike his partner, Shuuzou couldn't skate to save his life.

"Really?" Shige asked. Finally, both he and Kazunari stepped out onto the ice beside Shuuzou and while they couldn't skate with scary precision like Yukio and Tatsuya, they could at least keep their balance. Meanwhile, Tetsuya wasn't going to attempt this, since he was just as bad as Shuuzou. So, being the bastard that he was, he whipped out his phone and started videoing.

"Come on, guys!" The captain urged Shige, Kazunari and Kotarou. The trio moved off slowly, with Shuuzou behind them with shaking legs as he _crawled_ along the wall. "And stop clinging to the wall!" He gave Shuuzou a rather harsh slap on his shoulder, nearly making him fall flat on his face.

"Can't you see that I'm holding on for dear life?!" Shuuzou roared back. "If I let go, I'm going to die!"

"Oh. That's why you were walking like a crab earlier?" A voice came up from behind and asked. Shuuzou turned around to see Yukio, with hands folded.

Shuuzou was not amused. Of all the descriptions in the Japanese language, Yukio chose to liken his walk to a crab. "Yes, Yukio. That's why I was walking like a decapod crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura." He hissed out with an eye roll.

Yukio stared at Shuuzou. And stared some more until the two were locked in an intense stare-off. In the Blue Elite's mind, he tried to comprehend what a deca—whatever that Shuuzou had said, but it should mean "crab", right? That what he had referred his walking to anyway.

"I take it that you don't like being referred to a crab, huh?" Yukio asked, finally breaking the silence.

"No…"

"Then why didn't you just tell me you couldn't skate in the first place? I would have stayed with you."

Shouichi covered his mouth to hide the snicker. "Here comes Mama Yuki."

"Or even me." Tatsuya joined in. "Why didn't you say something?"

Shuuzou turned his face away. "I never wanted to fall. It's embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than walking like a crab?"

"Yes, Yukio. It's far more embarrassing than walking like a decapod crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura." He deadpanned.

"I'm going to stab you to death." The Blue Elite hissed in irritation before grabbing Shuuzou in the collar and pulling him off from the wall.

"No! I don't want to!"

"If you didn't then why did you put on skates?!"

"I thought I could manage!"

Yukio sighed. "Trust me, Shuuzou. I'm not going to let you fall." This time, he wasn't having a scream fest with the power forward; instead, his voice was soft and gentle. "Trust me okay?"

Shuuzou took shaky steps forward, gripping the Blue Elite's hand tightly. And contrary to popular belief, no one looked at the two as they made their way to the centre of the rink. Everyone was busy doing their own thing, which Shuuzou was glad for. That meant, he had nothing to worry about.

Except for when Yukio's cellphone rang and he let go of Shuuzou's hand, the power forward falling onto his face like a jenga tower.

"I'm never coming back here." He grumbled into the ice, the others busting with laughter at his demise.

* * *

 ** _Thank you for reading~!_**


	7. Sitting by the Fire

_**A/N: Thank you for your faves, reviews and follows!**_

 _ **Enjoy~!**_

…

…

 _ **Day 07: Sitting by the Fire**_

* * *

"Ho, ho, ho! Here we go~!" Shige chirped in the back of the van. They were on their way to a public ice-skating rink nearby. They were in Niigata currently, as Tanaka decided to take them out to the prefecture for the holidays. Of course, with their parents' permissions. Kise had wanted to tag along as well, but sadly, he was denied.

The nine stayed at a skiing resort, hoping to enjoy not only the scenery of the prefecture, but also whatever fun activity the place has to offer.

That said, riding the gondola up the mountain were the eight boys of RimFire. They were actually quite eager and rearing to go. But unlike their adventure at the ice skating rink, Shuuzou knew how to ski. Which means, Yukio won't be likening his walk to a crab anymore. He was going to show the Blue Elite just what he can do.

Getting off the gondola, the boys whistled upon seeing the size of the mountain that they'd have to go down. It was really massive, and looking down from the top was really daunting.

"Let's burn up this mountain," Yukio started, a habit ingrained in him from his RimFire escapades.

"RimFire style!" the others followed likewise.

Still, before they could continue, the boys were greeted by an unexpected group.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't RimFire." A deep voice chuckled. "What brings you here?"

"Blue Danger?!" they screeched out in surprise. What a coincidence this was! Since streetball competitions have been put off because of the holidays, neither team would have guessed that they'd run into each other _here_ in _Niigata._

"Pleasant surprise." Fuse grinned. "But since we're all here, why not have some fun? I'm still smoldering from our last match."

"You're on!" As if being able to read each others' minds, the boys knew what "have some fun" entailed. Most likely, it would be a race down this mountain.

"Wait! We're not all like you four!" Kazunari screeched, referring to Shouichi, Tatsuya, Yukio and Shuuzou. "Shige-chan walks like a crab," he started, ignoring the indignant shout coming from their centre, "Ko-chan and I can barely move, and don't even get me started on Tetsu-chan!"

Shouichi, Shuuzou Tatsuya and Yukio looked impassive. "So?" they shrugged.

"So? So? _SO?!"_ Kazunari gasped at their attitude. "Do you want us to suffer the shame?!"

"Please…" Yukio rolled his eyes. "As long as you aren't walking like a crab, you should do just fine."

"What is up with you and "walking like a goddamn crab"?!"

"Because that's exactly how you look."

Blue Danger stifled down their laughter at the idiots. Hearing them refer to their skiing ability ―or rather, lack thereof―as walking like a crab is hilarious.

"Alright, it wouldn't be fair if it's all eight of you against the five of us." Yonebayashi started. "Five against five."

"Oh come on~" Shige urged. "It doesn't have to be RimFire vs. Blue Danger. Just us against each other, every man for himself."

"That's not a bad idea." Fuse grinned. "So, let's go! Last one down has to buy everyone dinner!" he laughed as he pushed off and dashed down the slope.

"SHHIIIITTT!" The others followed suit, and like Shige had said, it was every man for himself. Tetsuya didn't care, since he couldn't really ski, so instead, he whipped out his phone and videoed. _Nothing_ was going to miss him.

The four experts―Yukio, Shouichi, Tatsuya and Shuuzou sped down the slope with frightening pace, so too did Blue Danger. Fuse was already in front because he gave himself a head-start, but the others were determined to catch his ass.

Behind them were Shige, Kotarou and Kazunari trying their best not to catch up the main group but to stay on their feet. Many a time Shige staggered and nearly fell flat face-first into the snow, Kazunari clung to an already struggling Kotarou for support, bawling his eyes out.

But back to where the action was.

Tetsuya drifted down the slope with his camera still poised, but he focused his attention to the group. Their yelling and shouts echoed across the mountain, and the light-blue teen haired prayed that their boisterousness won't trigger and avalanche.

It was then that his camera caught Yukio.

He was darting to and fro, gaining frightening momentum. He then diverted through a copse of trees, to disappear from their sights. Yamamoto had finally caught up Fuse; Shouichi, Shuuzou and Tatsuya were right behind. The remainder of Blue Danger were fading behind that set, but Tetsuya knew that it wasn't over yet.

Reaching a bump in the way, the boys flew over it, but that was when they noticed something, rather, _someone._

"Yuki! You're cheating!" Shouichi shrieked. "You bastard!"

Yukio flashed him a quick smile before refocusing. "All's fair in love and war, Shou!"

"Get back here!"

But RimFire wouldn't be RimFire without causing a disaster. Shuuzou, who was about to catch Shouichi and left Tatsuya behind, his ski got caught in _something;_ the boy couldn't see which caused him to trip. But before he went down, he grabbed onto Shouichi's jacket and down the two went, rolling like barrels down the slope.

Tatsuya tried to warn Yukio of the oncoming danger since his back was turned but before he could utter a single syllable, something crashed into his back. He felt his body being hauled and pulled before getting a proper seating.

"What on earth?!" he screamed. It was then that he realized. He was on a sledge, with Shige, Kotarou, Kazunari and Tetsuya standing at the back, guiding it while filming.

"Yo!" The Lightning dribbler greeted with a toothy grin. "How are you doing?"

"How am I doing?! How am I doing?! You almost killed me!" he screamed. Given how loud he was, the others felt that Murasakibara could stay in Akita and hear him clearly. "Where did you even get this from?!"

"Well, you're alive now aren't you?" Kazunari shrugged, totally ignoring the latter question. "So fix better. We're picking up those two barrels as well." He said, referring to Shuuzou and Shouichi.

The two boys rolled down the slope still, until they finally came to a stop when they collided with a tree. Barely conscious, they didn't even realize when they were grabbed in the coats and brutally dragged down the slope before being lifted up and into the sledge.

"Ho, ho, ho!" Shige laughed, he stood in the thing, pretending to be Santa.

Yukio was still speeding away; unaware of what was happening behind. But when he realized that he hasn't been hearing Shouichi's nasty comments, he turned to look.

He wished he hadn't.

A rather large sledge was coming towards him, Kazunari and Kotarou were at either side of it, Shige was standing in between them and laughing. Tatsuya had a terrified look on his face as he gripped the side of the construct with all his might, Shouichi and Shuuzou looked half dead. Tetsuya…

"Where's Tetsuya?" he mumbled to himself. But then, he saw him―holding a camera with a diabolical grin on his face.

"Shit!" The Blue Elite cursed, turning back around in hopes of escaping.

But, it was futile.

Just then, the Blue Elite saw something being thrown in his direction. He tried to swerve away from them, dishing out violent curses to his brothers behind him. It wasn't until one of the "missiles" actually hit him in the head ― _causing him to lose balance and crash face first into the snow_ ―that he realized what they were throwing at him.

Stones.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Came Shige's boisterous laughter. Yukio's face was so red with anger that he could've melted the snow around him easily.

"You son of a ―!" He was unable to finish that curse, because the sledge had already caught up, Kazunari and Kotarou were already reaching for him.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Watch your tongue, young man!" Shige laughed. "Secure him boys!"

 _So he's the mastermind of all this, huh?_ Yukio thought as he was wrangled up. _He's a dead man later._

So, downwards they went, other skiers looking at the bunch with confusion. It was a wonder as to how that many boys of their sizes could fit on the thing. Although it wasn't small, still, they should feel a little bit cramped.

"Gotta go fast!" Kotarou shrieked, enjoying the rush of the cool breeze against his face.

But their joyride was about to end. Hitting something in the snow, the sledge came to an abrupt halt, but the boys didn't. Instead, they were flung from it, their bodies scattered around in the snow.

"Ho…ho…ho…" Shige strained to say. "…that's one wicked crash…"

"Shut up…" Yukio groaned out. "Remind me to kill you later."

"I'm cold, Yu-chan." Kazunari whined out. "Warm me up."

"Come here." Yukio beckoned. He's always treated the boys younger than him like how he'd treat his own little brothers, and because of this, even to this day; he's been called "Mama Yuki".

Kazunari crawled his way over to the Blue Elite, and this prompted the others to burn with envy.

"Hey! I'm cold too!"

"Me too!"

"Yuki~I need your warmth!"

…

…

After their skiing race and RimFire catching up with Blue Danger and promising to buy them dinner another day, the boys returned to their place. The eight boys huddled up at the fireplace with Tanaka giving them soup to drink. They've been out in the snow too long so he feared that they may get the cold or something.

"Hey wanna tell a story?" Shuuzou asked Tatsuya, nudging him in the sides as well.

"Wh―why?" He stuttered out. He was still a bit cold but both he and Shuuzou were under the same sheet. Beside them were Shige and Tetsuya, next were Kazunari and Kotarou with the former being nestled in Yukio's lap, Shouichi was beside his best friend.

"I'll tell you one." Shouichi smirked. "I'm pretty sure you're all wondering how Yuki can skate and ski, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Don't you dare!" The Blue Elite screeched.

"Well, it was a snowy December and Yuki came to visit. Dad and I were going to go ice-skating but Yuki said he couldn't skate."

"Shou!"

"So, Dad decided to teach him to skate on the frozen river nearby." The bespectacled teen laughed, ignoring Yukio's screeches. "Oh, what a wonderful sight it was." He laughed. "Yuki was pathetic! He slipped, he skidded, he fell flat so many times on his face that I nearly died from laughter! I started wheezing at some point!"

"Let me guess, his face was red too, huh?" Tetsuya snickered.

"So red it could've melted the ice!" Shouichi nearly fell over from the laughter. "You should've seen his face! He was crying and bawling and...!" He couldn't finish. He doubled over, the others laughing Yukio to scorn.

"You bastard! I'm going to kill you!" The Blue Elite couldn't take it any longer. Tonight, _both_ Shouichi and Shige will cease to exist in this world.

"Lava boy much." Tetsuya laughed.

With Kazunari in his lap, there wasn't much Yukio could do, so he just resigned to their teasing. _However,_ he wasn't the only one with an embarrassing past. He's been friends with Shouichi for a decade (probably more), so he has all the necessary stories to use for his slaughter.

"Well then, let me tell you the time when Shou came with me to Grandma."

Instantly, Shouichi paled. "Oh no, Yuki. Any story but that!"

Yukio smiled like the demon he was. "Grab your popcorns; this is going to be like watching a blockbuster."

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading!**_


	8. Gingerbread Man

_**A/N: Thank you for your faves, reviews and follows!**_

 _ **Enjoy~!**_

…

…

 _ **Day 08: Gingerbread Man**_

* * *

Tetsuya and Shige slumped in the kitchen, gazing at Tanaka's cooking and baking tools. Since it was the festive season, they thought of making Christmas treats for everyone but for the life of them, they didn't know what to bake. They've seen people bake cakes in the shapes of Christmas trees and reindeers and even Santa and giant candy canes, but they aren't so skilled to attempt such a feat. Heck, Shige doubts that Tetsuya could make anything other than boiled eggs.

The two were home alone currently, Tanaka along with Yukio and Shouichi had gone _somewhere,_ Tatsuya and Shuuzou dragged along Kotarou and Kazunari _elsewhere,_ so it's just them inside the house.

And so, with everyone out, the two decided to make something nice for them. Yukio was _always_ caring for them like a mother ―there was this time when they had all played in the pouring rain like idiots and the next day, they were all sick. Yukio was the one who made them soup and porridge, fed them, kept their temperatures in check, _everything._ Shouichi was like the father, sometimes. He's the one who usually pesters them about their homework and the one who they all go to for advice when Tanaka-san wasn't around. Kotarou was like the cool big brother who they could do shit with and then he would take all the blame for it. Kazunari was just their partner in crime. Shuuzou and Tatsuya would take them places [ADD]

So, they scrolled through their phones for some ideas and at one point, they nearly gave up seeing that it was a lost cause.

"How about we start with some cookies first?" Shige suggested. "Those are easy to bake, I think."

"Sure, let's do that."

Quickly, they took out the necessary tools from the cupboard and settled them on the counter. Then, in one swift motion, Shige bent to preheat the oven.

When that was done, they took butter, sugar ―white and brown―and creamed them together until smooth. Then, one at a time, they beat in the eggs and stirred in the vanilla. In the meantime Shige did that, Tetsuya boiled some hot water to dissolve the baking soda easily. This was later added to the batter along with the salt. They left that aside, they reached for the flour, the bag of chocolate chips and nuts to stir in.

"We can't put nuts in!" Tetsuya shrieked, just as Shige was about to dumb them in. "Yukio-kun's allergic!"

"He is?" This was news to the centre. "He's never said anything."

Tetsuya chuckled lightly. "It's because Shouichi-kun already told us. In the earlier days, Kazunari-kun bought some peanut butter and put it in some cupcakes that he baked with Tanaka-san. Yukio-kun didn't know that peanut butter was in there and he ate it."

"Holy shit, what happened after?"

"He couldn't breathe so we had to take him to the hospital before he died."

Shige gasped. "He was…dying?"

"Roughly. Because of his allergic reaction, his throat was closing up, blocking off his air supply."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, so absolutely no nuts, or anything related to them."

"Imagine if you weren't here. I would've killed off our captain."

"No worries. If he didn't die the first time, he sure as hell isn't going to die the second."

"We don't know that."

"Come on, this is Yukio-kun where talking about here." The light-blue haired teen chuckled. "So let's finish this before they come back."

"So, if we can't add nuts, what should we add in?"

"Strawberries, maybe?"

"Apples?"

"That's nasty."

"Well, strawberries baked in cookies are nasty too."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Of course it is Tetsu!"

"Well have you ever heard of _apples_ in _cookies?"_ The phantom countered. "Have you?"

Shige was silenced. Sure, it wasn't a common practice, but his father does it. And he knew he couldn't use his Dad as a reference because that's just _one_ person.

"Fine." He succumbed. "Let's just kill it with chocolate chips."

…

…

"I tell you, I'm never bringing those two anywhere!"

"Maa, maa, calm down Shuu."

"Don't tell me to calm down Tatsuya!"

The quartet of Shuuzou, Tatsuya, Kotarou and Kazunari had returned home, and along with it, ruckus. It seemed that whatever happened while they had been out, pissed off the power forward. But, hearing the giggles and chuckles coming from Kazunari and Kotarou, it would seem that Shuuzou wasn't "pissed" per se, but annoyed at _something_ or rather ― _them._

"Come on Shuu-chan~" Kazunari playfully sang, "You know you ―" He stopped mid-sentence when a sweet aroma caught his nose. "Is that…?"

Quickly, the four ripped their shoes off their feet and left it at the genkan. They dashed towards the kitchen in hopes of seeing Tanaka-san there, but lo and behold, it was Shige and Tetsuya.

Immediately, their faces fell.

"Oh, it's just you two." Kotarou sighed. "I thought it was Tanaka-san."

"What kind of greeting is that?" the centre hissed. "We've baked all this for you and you haven't greeted us properly! Insolent!" There on the kitchen island were numerous cookies, decorated with colourful icing.

"Wait, Tetsuya helped to bake this?" Tatsuya asked as he neared the island cautiously. He took up a cookie and inspected it thoroughly. He even broke one in two to see if there was something amiss. The boys all knew that Tetsuya was hopeless in the kitchen.

"Yes he did! You should be proud!" Shige said with pride.

"More like scared." Kazunari mumbled out, but it was loud enough so everyone heard.

"I second that." Shuuzou agreed.

Swiftly, Tetsuya grabbed a nearby bowl and threw it at Kazunari, knocking him off the chair. Tatsuya and Shuuzou let out frightened screeches, at the sudden action. "I'll have you know that my cookies are delicious!" He hissed. He neared the hawk-eyed point guard with a darkened face. "Now, you're going to eat my cookies or else."

"Tetsu-chan…I was just joking." He nervously chuckled out.

"Oh no, you were not."

"But ―!" He was cut off when a cookie was forcefully shoved into his mouth. Tasting the cookie, Kazunari's eyes widened.

"This tastes good!" He screeched. "Did Tetsu-chan really made this?!"

"He had my help." Shige huffed with pride. "If not, then…"

"Don't even finish that sentence."

"Hai, hai."

"But whatever, these are regular cookies." Shuuzou said, rising from his seat. He headed to the counter and put on an apron after which he took up a wooden spoon and pointed it at the others. "Let me show you how it's done."

…

…

"Thank you for coming with me boys," Tanaka said as he pulled up in the driveway.

"It's no problem." Shouichi replied with a chuckle after seeing Yukio's face. But on their way back, the Blue Elite had a bad feeling regarding the boys they left at home. He knew that with them being unsupervised, disaster was bound to happen. He had even tried to get Tanaka to drive faster, because of the uneasy feeling he had.

And now that their finally home, Yukio immediately dashed out of the car and opened the front door. And what greeted him, was indeed what was troubling him.

"You son of a bitch! Look what you did to my man!" A deep voice roared. "He's missing a head! A head!"

"Me?! Look what you've done to mine! He has no legs! And one of his arms is missing! You _monster!"_ Another voice shrieked. _"You MONSTER!"_

Yukio dashed to the kitchen to stumble upon the horror.

Tetsuya was carefully decorating _something_ by the far side of the counter while Shige, Tatsuya, Kazunari, Kotarou and Shuuzou were screaming and swinging bowls and kitchen utensils and throwing flour at each other in bitter rage.

Bits and pieces of cookies were littering the ground, and on the island there were numerous gingerbread cookies lying on the table in trays. The colourful icings were splattered and spewed out _everywhere,_ in essence, the kitchen was a _mess._

"What the hell is going on?" Yukio said with a stern voice. "What have you done to the kitchen?!"

The boys instantly stopped upon hearing Yukio's voice.

Fear replaced their anger in seconds, seeing the captain stand before them with folded arms and tapping his feet on the floor like an impatient mother awaiting her child's explanation for doing something wrong.

"We…uh, Shuu-chan dismembered my man!" Kazunari shrieked.

"Because he took my man's head!" the power forward defended. "Tell me, what he had done to deserve this!?" Shuuzou took the headless gingerbread man and held it up. "Look at him! He was so innocent!"

Yukio face-palmed at the idiots.

He grabbed the gingerbread man from Shuuzou and bit into it. He munched rather loudly, with a satisfied look on his face. "Nice."

That said, Shuuzou let out a shriek of horror. "You demon!"

"He was dead anyway." Yukio deadpanned as he licked his lips. He then moved to the others and ate their gingerbread men as well with a wide grin on his face.

The others looked at him in horror.

"I'm going to kill you!" Kotarou screamed as he lunged for the captain. "How could you eat my gingerbread man?! My first child!"

"You're a dead man, Yukio." Shuuzou hissed.

…

…

"I wonder what's the racket about?" Shouichi asked while he gingerly took his shoes off at the genkan. Yukio had already entered a couple minutes ago, and all he heard were screams about "men missing heads and limbs" and "monsters" and crazy stuff.

"Well, let's go find out." Tanaka said with a shrug. "Can't be anything to worry about."

Entering the kitchen, their eyebrows rose at the sight before them. Sprawled out on the floor on their backs were Shige and Tatsuya, while Kazunari and Kotarou were curled into foetal positions. Shuuzou was laying face-down but it was Yukio who had them questioning what happened. He was sitting in Shuuzou's back, with both his legs stretched out on Kazunari and Kotarou like they were his footstools. He picked his nails without a care in the world.

"Uh, Yuki…?"

"Yes?" The Blue Elite answered as though there wasn't something odd going on.

"Yay! I've finished!" Tetsuya perked up and said, totally ignoring the others on the floor. "You want to see it, Yukio-nii?!"

"Sure."

Tetsuya held his now colourful gingerbread man with a smile on his face. The cookie had white hair, blue eyes, green buttons, and red shoes.

"Good job Tetsuya." Yukio said ruffling his light blue-hair.

"Tetsuya! Let me taste it too!" Shouichi grinned as he sauntered in the kitchen, hopping over the others.

"Are they going to ignore the groans of agony of the others on the floor behind them?" Tanaka asked in wonder.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading~!**_


	9. Snowflakes

_**A/N: Thanks for all your faves, follows and reviews!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

…

…

 _ **Day 09: Snowflakes**_

* * *

They say that each snowflake is unique from the others, but for Adachi Tanaka, he realized that that statement doesn't only apply to the frozen water that falls from the sky.

Currently, the landlord was driving to a jewellery store to pick up his custom made gifts. He's ordered these two weeks ago and finally, they were finished. And thank God that they were finished a day before Christmas. That way, the boys could open their gifts tomorrow.

"Yes, everything is going according to plan." He rejoiced.

…

…

When the next day arrived, Tanaka was the first to get up to place their gifts in their stockings. After he'd done so, since he didn't feel sleepy anymore, he figured ― _why not do something until they got up?_

After all, it's Christmas, there's no way his eight terrors would sleep in until midday like usual. So, without further ado, the man padded to the kitchen and made some hot chocolate, returned to the living room and munched on a slice of cake. He scrolled through couple entertainment magazines' websites but before he knew it, he heard shuffling and heavy footfalls.

 _Oh, they're up._

Tanaka remained unfazed and waited for them to come down the stairs. He knew it'll take a while since they had to shower and brush their teeth which will probably take forever.

So once again, the man waited.

Close to an hour later, he heard thunderous footsteps coming to him, and a smile graced his face as he put down his phone on the coffee table before him.

"Merry Christmas boys." Tanaka grinned upon seeing the eight bolt down the stairs in haste. They were all surprised to see the man sitting in the sofa and drinking hot chocolate and eating cake so early in the morning. It was the holidays, so no one got up this early anymore.

"Merry Christmas, Tanaka-san!" they chirped, after getting out of their momentary daze.

"Your presents are in your stockings."

Quickly, the eight dashed to the fireplace and grabbed their stockings, not caring if the cloth tore. They headed back to Tanaka where they sat in the other sofa and arm chairs and emptied the contents of their stockings.

The gifts were wrapped in snow blue paper, with neat white ribbons tied in huge bows at the top. Seeing them, the eight wondered what it could be, since all the boxes were the same size.

Eager, they viciously ripped open their presents. The wrapping paper revealed a small white box, eyebrows rising. But nevertheless, the eight opened the box and what they saw left them almost tearing up. There, in each of their boxes were necklaces. The chains themselves were glossy black, while the pendant attached to it was in the colour of flames ― _red, orange and yellow_ ―and in the form of a snowflake. But what was more, each boy's necklace differed from the other. The patterns mimicked those of real snowflakes, but within it were their names and number on their jerseys.

"I had those made especially for you." Tanaka started, seeing the looks on their faces. "They say that each snowflake is unique and has a different pattern than all the others. It applies to you eight as well. There's no other―"

"Tanaka-san!" They screeched in joy; Kazunari and Kotarou had tears streaming down their faces, Yukio and Shouichi had long put on theirs and were taking a million and one selfies, Shuuzou, Tatsuya and Shige were suffocating the man with their hugs, Tetsuya's face was beaming with delight.

But thanks to the aforementioned trio, the cake that Tanaka was eating was making him choke.

"Quick! Call 119!" Yukio shrieked.

Kotarou snatched up the nearest cellphone ―Shuuzou's― and began dialling, however, the number 9 wasn't working due to the screen being partially cracked. It had happened when they went ice-skating and he fell when Yukio released him to answer a call which turned out to be Shouichi wanting to see the power forward fall on his face.

"The nine's not working! What do we do?!" The Lightning dribbler said in fright.

"Turn the phone upside down and use the six, you fool!" Shuuzou snapped.

"Genius!"

Tanaka, who was on the floor with Shige and Yukio giving him back blows to make him cough, couldn't believe his ears. Turn the phone upside down and use the six? What the hell? But he shouldn't have been surprised.

His boys are something else after all.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading~!**_

 _ **Credits to owner for what Shuuzou said to Kotarou in regards to the number 9 not working.**_


	10. Scarf

…

…

 _ **Day 10: Scarf**_

* * *

After the drama with Tanaka ―he finally stopped choking―it was the boys' turn to give the man the present that they got for him. Kazunari dashed up the staircase and within no time, he returned a box, neatly wrapped in emerald green paper with a red bow on the cover. This box was one of those pre-wrapped ones, where people didn't have to go through the stresses of wrapping one from scratch.

"Merry Christmas!" they all chirped, when Kazunari handed the gift to Tanaka.

The man took the cover off the box and what he saw left him conflicted. It was a scarf, but as he took it up and opened it out, he held his face down. He didn't want to hurt his boys' feelings but the scarf was bad ―it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't nice either.

But he couldn't tell them that.

"It's…" Tanaka trailed off, trying to find the right words to describe it. "I like the colour." He finally said. It was a rich purple colour, one that's used to signify royalty.

"Oh…"

Tanaka caught their faces and felt bad.

For the past couple days, Tanaka had known that something was strange with his eight boys. It started at the beginning of the week, when _all_ of them left the house saying that they were going to buy something. When he had asked them if they wanted a lift, they hastily declined, something that they _never_ do.

Upon returning, Tanaka noticed that they were starting to behave secretive. Their sentences were vague, and most times, when Tanaka asked them, all they uttered out was:

" _It's nothing to worry about."_

Naturally, the man's suspicions would rise after hearing _that._

What was more, the boys would stay away from him for most of the day. Usually, at least one of them would be around him, asking for advice, pestering him do _something_ ―it varied on which boy asked―but in essence, Tanaka was never alone at any given time of the day. But this week was different.

And it had scared him.

He had started to wonder if there was something bothering the boys which they didn't know how to talk about it. He thought long and hard about the various things that may trouble a teenage male and found it hard to come to a conclusion.

All Tanaka could think of was the lack of streetball competitions to get their blood pumping.

He knew it couldn't have been homesickness because it was just two weeks ago that the boys returned to their families and spent some time before coming back. But the man decided to give up. When they wanted to talk to him, he knew they'll spill their guts.

But now, he wished that they had just asked him for help.

"Look boys," Tanaka started, "I know that this isn't the best scarf in the world," he saw them wince at that. "But knowing how much time and effort you put into this, is enough to make it the best gift in the universe."

Immediately, their faces brightened.

"Really?!" they shrieked.

"Yes, really. Now come and let's take a picture."

"I call dibs on the left arm rest!"

"I want the right!"

"You bastards, you're already tall, go stand at the back and leave the rests for someone else!"

"It sucks to be you but I'm not moving!"

Tanaka sighed. The bickering has begun once again.

* * *

 _ **Thanks for reading~!**_


	11. Festive II

…

…

 _ **Day 11: Festive II**_

* * *

The guesthouse was noisy.

Currently, RimFire and Tanaka were in Kyoto, having just returned to their temporary stay after doing some souvenir shopping. They bought daruma dolls, they ate food at the stalls and restaurants, they took a million and one pictures everywhere they went but most importantly, they had _fun._

Tanaka had given them to choice to select a place where they wanted to go, and through rounds of janken, it was decided upon the _"Hanatoro Festival"_ in Kyoto. They stayed at a guesthouse in Arashiyama, not wanting to be in a stuffy hotel.

Arashiyama is a district on the outskirts of Tokyo that holds the _Hanatoro Festival_ every December. For ten days, more than five kilometres of streets around the town centre and river are lit up by lanterns. Among the most spectacular attractions is the _Bamboo Forest_ behind Tenryuji Temple.

Which is where RimFire is preparing to head to at the moment.

They were changing out of their regular street clothes into traditional kimonos with their haori jackets. Yukio's was purple and white, Shouichi and Shuuzou's was of a dark colour, Kazunari and Kotarou decided to match out like twins and theirs were red and white with a unique pattern. Shige wore a green coloured one, and Tetsuya's was light blue to match his hair. Tatsuya's was full white.

"Are we all set?" Tanaka asked, his haori and kimono was lovely royal blue colour.

"Hai!"

They exited from the guesthouse and hopped into the man's car, before he drove off to the Festival. The ride was a peaceful one, the boys "oh"ed and "aww" ed at their surroundings. And of course, the chatter was endless, and sometimes it led to bickering and bitching.

After minutes of driving, they finally arrived at the Tenryuji Temple. Like the other patrons present, they made their way to the back of the structure where their eyes met the entrance of a forest.

"Let's go!" The boys chirped, grabbing Tanaka's wrist, pulling him forward. Soon, they neared a grey bridge —ancient in its construction, grandly arching crystal clear waters below. There were patrons here as well, chatting and taking pictures in the cool, evening time. The sun had long disappeared from the sky, leaving only a blanket of darkness above.

With a light tug, they pulled Tanaka towards the bridge, even the landlord himself eager to see the _Hanatoro_ lights on the Bamboo path. He's seen a million pictures online, and he couldn't wait to see it with his own eyes.

Making it to the entrance of the Bamboo Forest, the two felt their breaths hitch. There, nestled along the walkway in precise intervals were beautiful path lights and emanating from their bulbs was a soft ambient glow, stretching all the way up the bamboo.

It was breathtaking sight.

"Wow…" Tanaka breathed out; for a moment he was a bit lost in the scenery but then when he glanced at his eight boys, he saw that they were just as mesmerized as he was or perhaps, more.

There was a something special about this scenery that takes one's breath away the instant it is seen. The group trudged the bamboo lined path, walking close to each other so as to not lose anyone. As for Tetsuya, he was handcuffed to Shige for safekeeping.

Although there was a crowd here on the path, it was peaceful ―the only sound one could hear was the sounds of the camera shutter whenever people took pictures.

That said, RimFire did take a lot of pictures.

They took individual photos, duo photos such as Shouichi and Yukio only, Kazunari and Kotarou only etc, and of course, they took group photos by asking random passers-by since Tanaka _had_ to be in those pictures.

For those pictures, Tanaka held his boys close, and with the beautiful ambient lights along the bamboo as their background, this picture became the one that they all planned to print out and frame to keep forever.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading~!**_


	12. Happy New Year

…

…

 _ **Day 12: Happy New Year!**_

* * *

The eight boys of RimFire stood on their rooftop awaiting the first sunrise of the New Year. They waited with bated breaths as the sun slowly peeped from over the hills and when fully emerged, they broke out in cheers. Tanaka filmed it all, never missing a dull moment of his boys. The eight were dressed in their jerseys; Tanaka himself wore a RimFire jersey shirt as well, with number one but had _"Coach"_ hovering above the number. He wasn't their coach since he barely knew anything about the sport, but that showed him how much his boys cared and respected him.

Last year had been a very hectic one, as not only did they have Inter-High and Winter Cup to deal with, but the numerous streetball competitions that they entered. It was a wonderful experience, as when they had just started out; it was just the five of them, Tatsuya was still in America at the time.

They took the courts by storm, conquering all those that stood before them. But throughout all this, they've forged new friendships with teams like Blue Danger and Skyscraper, somehow becoming momentary teachers to numerous teams who wanted their advices.

It was almost as though they became celebrities, as everyone in the Japanese basketball world knew of RimFire. And thanks to them, streetball has been steadily rising in the country, but the competitions in the Tokyo and Kanagawa areas are the most supportive since those are the ones RimFire attends due to proximity to their house. The spectator and participants turn-out is always high, so much so that the organizers have to turn away spectators because the venue was full and participants because streetball is only a one-day thing. If they had allowed all the teams who wanted to participate to do so, then they'll be having matches for three days or more.

"To the New Year!" Shouichi shouted with a smile on his face. He threw up a basketball in the air, with the other boys shouting and hooting.

"Let's continue to take the courts by storm!" Yukio added, catching the ball and throwing it up the air once again.

"Let's be the best streetball team in the country!" Shuuzou said, doing likewise Yukio.

"Let's do our homework on time!" Kazunari added.

"Let's learn how to bake cookies properly!" Tetsuya chuckled.

"Let's set up Yukio on a girl and hope he gets married! I want to be best man!" Kotarou said with a wide grin, the Blue Elite nearly kicking him into oblivion.

"Let's set up Tanaka-san on a fine woman so that we can have little nieces and nephews to spoil!" Shige added.

"O-oi…" The landlord stuttered out.

"Let's keep our bond forever! Let nothing drive us apart!" Tatsuya shouted. "Let's grow old together!"

"RimFire!" the eight boys shouted in unison, holding the basketball and throwing it up in the air together one last time. When it finally fell, they huddled up together with Tanaka for a picture.

The man settled his phone on the tripod and set the timer so that everyone could get into positions quickly. Doing that, Tetsuya was in the middle because he was the shortest ―on his right was Yukio with Tatsuya behind the Blue Elite. Shige was directly behind Tetsuya in the centre, with Shuuzou beside him. On Tetsuya's left was Kotarou with Kazunari and Shouichi behind him like the others. Tanaka stood beside Kazunari at the end.

Done with that picture, in the next, the eight mobbed Tanaka, dragging him in the centre of them. And this time, they twisted their faces like gangsters while Tanaka still looked a bit shocked.

But, he never minded.

He loved his boys and their crazy antics and would do nothing to change that. Even though they can be a handful, he wouldn't want them any different.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading~! And Happy New Year to you all~!**_


End file.
